Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1032158
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 SEPTEMBER 2018 4 NEWS MINISTRY FOR HEALTH PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE PUBLIC HEALTH IS YOUR GUARANTEE. TAKE PART. NATIONAL SURVEY ON THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PROJECT PART-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION PAUL COCKS ONLINE shoppers and people paying for services electroni- cally will be encountering a new pop-up security page as the country adopts a third layer of security aimed at eradicat- ing credit card theft and fraud. The new security verifica- tion protocol – 3D Secure – will not affect all online payments, but will only be triggered in cases the issu- ing bank deems necessary, ir- respective of the transaction value. As more merchants sign up to the system, online shop- pers will find themselves hav- ing to verify their identity more frequently before the online transaction is com- pleted. In practical terms, Mal- tese online shoppers may be asked to either answer a se- cret question that they would have previously agreed with the bank or else input a veri- fication number sent to their mobile phone, depending on which bank issued the credit card being used for the trans- action. 3D Secure is considered the third tier of security neces- sary in the fight against credit card fraud. The first tier is the credit card itself, and thus its num- ber, while the CVV code on the back of the credit card provides a second layer of protection. These two en- sure that anyone affecting an online payment has physical ownership of the credit card being used. 3D Secure en- sures that whoever makes use of the credit card is, in fact, its rightful owner. MITA, the government's in- formation technology agen- cy, has also incorporated 3D Secure within the 90 sites that accept online payments through the government's e- forms platform. Consumers paying their driving tickets or water and electricity bills on- line, for example, may now be asked to verify their identity after providing their credit card details. Clint Mintoff and Darren Mizzi, the MITA executives responsible for the govern- ment's payment gateway, told MaltaToday that 3D se- cure was crucial in the fight against credit card fraud. "With more than 650,000 transactions to the value of 98 million euros thus far on the government's e-forms platforms, it was imperative that this third layer of securi- ty become mandatory across all public payment platform," Mintoff said. "Of course online security remains ultimately depend- ent on common sense," Mizzi said. "You should never share your PIN or CVV numbers, nor should you allow anyone to learn the answer to your secret question or to see any verification number the bank sends you by sms." And although credit card company VISA introduced 3D Secure 10 years ago, it was in 2017 that the govern- ment saw the need to intro- duce the protocol across its payment gateway. Roll-out on low-yield payment plat- forms started in March this year, with the system now being introduced to the sites accepting high value transac- tions, such as that for driving tickets. "The aim was always to in- troduce the new security feature without causing any disruption to the system or inconvenience to user," Mizzi said. "The time was now deemed right to roll out the protocol across the entire payment gateway, as more merchants also embrace the added secu- rity." "There has always been the risk of misuse in the case of online payments, and 3D Secure further reduces that risk," Mintoff said. "Our advice remains for us- ers to be vigilant about what information they share with others. After all, all security measures are only as strong as their weakest link." MATTHEW AGIUS A man from Ta' Xbiex has de- nied robbing a woman at knife- point inside her home in Testa- ferrata Street in Ta' Xbiex on 16 September. 43-year-old Christopher El Shoushani appeared in the dock before magistrate Caroline Far- rugia Frendo yesterday, accused of theft aggravated by violence, value and place. He was also charged with il- legally detaining the woman against her will, carrying a weap- on during the commission of a theft, carrying a knife in public without a police permit and re- lapsing. El Shoushani, who told the court that he worked as a cook, pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Shazoo Ghaznavi, requested bail. Prosecuting inspectors Jo- seph Mercieca and Colin Shel- don objected to bail due to the risk of the man tampering with evidence as he lived close to the victim and one of the principal witnesses, though they conceded that he had obeyed his police bail conditions to the letter. Ghaznavi suggested that bail conditions could be made suf- ficiently tight as to prevent him from absconding. "There is an allegation that he went and took this person's money. Trustwor- thiness is not something I can go into at this stage, but he's Mal- tese and in employment." The court granted El Shoushani bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000 while ordering him to sign a bail book three times a week and observe a curfew. A protection order was issued in favour of the victim. Man accused of robbing woman at knifepoint in Ta' Xbiex residence Anti-fraud ID verification for online shoppers Identity verification introduced to fight credit card fraud